Fervent Desires

Chapter 10 - Camping Day 2

I awoke to the sound of laughter flowing from outside the tent. Erica was already up and I found her by the fire helping Lydia make breakfast. “Coffee?” Cynthia extended the coffee pot to me as I approached the group.

“What did you say we were doing today?” I asked stifling a yawn.

“Hiking,” I heard a voice behind me and turned to see Kendall and Kyle approaching.

“Where were you two off to so early?” I asked.

“We went to scout for the best trail back,” Kendall responded motioning to the path they had just returned from.

Kyle turned his attention to Erica. “It’s great that you cook Erica because our girl here can-not. ”

“I can cook,” I defended “I just don’t.”

“Oh please,” Cynthia chimed in. “You can’t cook to save your life.”

I stared at Erica, while they all had a laugh at my expense. I admired the fact that she fit right in with my friends. Even Vaughn seemed to like her. We sat down for breakfast while we discussed the highlights of trip. They all wanted to get to know Erica a little better and truth be told I wanted to get to know her better as well, now that she finally had her guard down. 

“I like her,” said Cynthia as we cleared up the camp. “I think she’s perfect for you.” Cynthia was never vocal about these things and I realized that if she was giving me her opinion she must really think a lot of Erica. “You think so?” I asked looking at Erica who was apparently being entertained by Kyle. She glowed as she laughed at Kyle's jokes and I couldn’t help but feel a little jealous that I wasn’t the one making her laugh like that. “It’s time you settled down Taylor, you can’t be the millionaire playgirl forever.” Cynthia had always been the most levelheaded one in the group. She knew of my escapades in Los Angeles and always wanted me to find a nice girl and settle down with as she put it.

“Everybody ready?” asked Lydia as we slung our packs across our backs.

“Ready!” yelled Cynthia, hurrying over to join her wife.

We headed up the trail with Lydia and Cynthia at the lead. I stayed behind with Erica who had started to get winded from the hike. "This was the best path?" I heard her mumble and instantly had to suppress a chuckle. After about thirty minutes of upward hiking we reached a valley, surrounded by the serene mountains and accentuated by the lush forest. Kyle immediately snapped several pictures of the landscape.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" I remarked.

"Absolutely,” he replied, stepping back to snap more pictures.

“Well I for one may have to sleep here tonight,” panted Erica before taking a swig from her water bottle.

“Trust me, the view gets better the higher up you go,” I extended my hand to her. “You don’t want to miss it”.

Erica took my hand gingerly and we continued up the trail. The early morning sun was hot and the visible sweat on our brows served as evidence. I looked over at Erica who was busy pushing back a lock that had come free of her ponytail.  I was in awe of her beauty; her cheeks glowed in the early morning sun which also made her lips look a soft pink. The rising sun made her blonde hair glisten and as she wiped sweat from forehead, she looked like she could be on the cover of any sports magazine.

The path was an incessant upward climb and it was clear that Erica was having a hard time keeping up. She slowed to a crawl, her exhaustion getting the best of her. “I think we should take a break,” I declared. Erica didn’t respond she simply leaned over with her hands on her knees and let out a long, deep, exhale. The others didn’t mind stopping either, I looked on while they all posed for snapshots before the picturesque landscape. The view was breathtaking, I sat on a rock next to Erica and relaxed my body onto a nearby tree. The warmth of the rock and the coolness of the open breeze provided a sense of calm; and we sat quietly together taking in the pristine wilderness below. The land was unspoiled as far as the eye could see, the perfect getaway.

It wasn't long before we resumed our trek upward. We carried on our ascent for the better part of two hours before the cabin finally came into view. “We made it!” yelled Kendall as we stepped out of the dense forest and into the clearing. At this point we were all ready to collapse and were grateful for the flatness of the trail. I turned to look at Erica who had exited the woods behind me and was now hunched over with her hands on her knees again, "See that wasn’t so bad, was it?" I teased.

She didn't even raise her head; she simply thrust out her fist, then slowly extended her middle finger upward. I couldn’t help but chuckle at the gesture. “Come on, I’ll give you a piggy back ride to the cabin,” I said dropping my backpack on the ground. Her face lit up and she sprung up a little too excitedly, indicating that she was feeling way better than she appeared.

“I’m gonna soak in that hot tub for three hours,” she announced as we made our way to the house.

Her breath was warm on my cheek and I couldn’t tell if it was the feel of her close to my body or the thought of her in the hot tub that caused my need for her to awaken. We got to the cabin where she immediately stripped down to her bathing suit and sunk into the steaming water.

“Wanna join me?” she asked.

How could I refuse? I stripped down as well and slid in next to her.

“How was your first camping trip?” I asked.

“I enjoyed every minute of it,” she responded moving closer.

Her voice was low and sensual and I couldn’t resist, I leaned down and planted a gentle kiss on her lips. Erica reached her arms up and wrapped them around my neck, pulling me deeper into a kiss much more sensuous than the one I'd just given her.

“I’ll meet you upstairs,” she whispered against my ear before hopping out of the hot tub and heading for the stairs.

I jumped out as well and followed her upstairs. This was going to be our last night before we had to fly back to New York so we might as well take advantage of it.